"Deficit" at JW Assembly

cookiemaster

I've recently been at an assembly here in Romania and there was an announced they were running a 10,000 Euro deficit and urging all attendees to donate more money besides the already 5K has was donated during that day. I really don't understand these things. It's their own assembly hall. State of the art JW assembly hall built less than 10 years ago. How are they running these huge "deficits"? Why would it cost 15K a day to have the assembly at your own bloody assembly hall. It all seems like a huge donations scam to me. Sure, they have some costs for the utilities, toilet paper, decorations, etc, but it's definitely not 15,000 Euro per day.

It's October so it's not very hot or cold. The cheap bastards never turn on the AC anyway. Utilities are very cheap here in Romania. My neighbor is the manager of a hotel with 100 rooms and she says that the electricity cost is around 1100 Euro per month for the entire hotel. How would an assembly hall generate such high expenses? Anyone else notice this apparent deficit scam?

OnTheWayOut

It all seems like a huge donations scam to me. Sure, they have some costs for the utilities, toilet paper, decorations, etc, but it's definitely not 15,000 Euro per day.

You understand just fine. They choose a number for what they hope to get from that assembly and always always always announce a deficit at a point partway through the event, so that people will dig deeper in their pockets and give more.

Even if they get twice the chosen target amount, it is sent away to Watchtower and at the next assembly, they only had a tiny bit of operating costs on hand, so they start at a deficit again.

Apparently, the deficit scam has been going on for decades, all around the world.

OnTheWayOut

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/62001/circuit-accounts-servants-confesses-how-scam-works

cookiemaster

OnTheWayOut - WOW! You just blew my mind. I've never known this. Thank you! Of course, I've always had my suspicions and since I've been awake I've been paying more attention to these things, but wow... the extent and deliberate planning of this is unbelievable, especially considering how spontaneous and sincere it seems to the average JW.

polish clarinet

it's the system used by the Walt Disney Company or Mc Donalds !

freddo

The circuit finances and assembly hall finances are a scam indeed. There was a pot of about £800,000 in the maintenance fund a few years ago from an assembly hall in the UK (built by and with the donations of local brothers and sisters) which got spirited away to Watchtower London branch in the same way as a Kingdom Hall gets transferred to the branch office and any sums in the "remodelling/renovation/new build pot" goes too.

So in the UK they reckon that £10 per head is the "suggested donation rate" so an assembly of 1,000 people "costs" £10,000. This to sit in a hall built by the region's brothers and sisters, cleaned by them, looked after by them renovated by them - all for free.

Then three quarters of the way through the program the Circuit Assembly Overseer or his Asst. (Local free labour wannabe elders) gets up and says "at this point" the deficit is blah blah blah. The gullible put money into the box or via credit card at the credit card paying point(s) (Yup they got those too!) and then any surplus over a few hundred pounds is voted away "for the worldwide work" to branch HQ by the circuit elders at the "suggestion" of the Circuit Assembly Overseer.

So instead of building up a healthy balance they start each assembly with little money from the previous one and "need" to tell of a whopping deficit - and off they go again.

Now assuming they have about 35 weekends so 70 days use as assemblies per year at 10K this means they have an income of £700,000. Take out heat and light, cleaning materials and a caretaker couple who live on site and a car then I don't see how they don't make at least £600,000. Let's be generous and say "only" £500,000.

Then every 20 years do a refurbishment with free labour of course.

Nice little earner.

Finkelstein

Anyone else notice this apparent deficit scam?

This has been seen in many Assembly events with the same " We are in a Deficit Brothers and Sisters"

They take the money and use it for other instances or give a bit to the local CO fund.

Sure there's going to be utilizes to pay such as electricity, gas, and some repairs etc.

But its over stated to keep an above amount in the Assembly Hall account..

jookbeard

I think the R&F will wake up soon to this scam, its no more than daylight robbery and fraud, how stupid do they think the R&F really are? especially appealing for funds that run into the £1000's for AH's they already own , the utility costs on any hall anywhere in the UK cant be more than a couple of hundred max for a one day event, thieving lying bastards.

Crazyguy

Can the local Romanians afford this amount per head or is this exorbitant?

stuckinarut2

This is a great video explaining it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APb1RpfjCrA

"Deficit" at JW Assembly

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